Velthuizen, A. 2012. A transdisciplinary approach to understanding the causes of wicked problems such as the violent conflict in Rwanda. TD: The Journal for Transdisciplinary Research in Southern Africa, 8(1):51-62, Jul. [http://dspace.nwu.ac.za/handle/10394/3605]

en_US

dc.identifier.issn

1817-4434

dc.identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/10394/6892

dc.description.abstract

The paper is presented against a background of many wicked problems that confront us
in the world today such as violent crime, conflict that emanates from political power
seeking, contests for scarce resources, the increasing reaction all over the world to the
deterioration of socio-economic conditions and the devastation caused by natural
disasters. This article will argue that the challenge of violent conflict requires an
innovative approach to research and problem solving and proposes a research
methodology that follows a transdisciplinary approach. The argument is informed by
field research during 2006 on the management of knowledge in the Great Lakes region
of Africa, including research on how knowledge on the 1994 genocide in Rwanda is
managed. The paper will make recommendations on how transdisciplinary research is
required to determine the causes of violent conflict in an African context and how
practitioners and academics should engage in transdisciplinarity. It was found that transdisciplinary research is required to gain better insight into the causes of violent conflict in an African context. It requires from the researcher to recognise the many levels of reality that has to be integrated towards a synthesis to reveal new insights into the causes of violent conflict, including recognising the existence of a normative-spiritual realm that informs the epistemology of Africa. It furthermore requires a methodology that allows us to break out of the stifling constraints of systems thinking and linear processes into the inner space at the juncture where disciplines meet (the diversity of African communities).

en_US

dc.language.iso

en

en_US

dc.publisher

North-West University

en_US

dc.subject

Africa

en_US

dc.subject

Conflict

en_US

dc.subject

Rwanda

en_US

dc.subject

Crime

en_US

dc.subject

Genocide

en_US

dc.subject

Violence

en_US

dc.subject

Transdisciplinary

en_US

dc.title

A transdisciplinary approach to understanding the causes of wicked problems such as the violent conflict in Rwanda